Happy New Years

Hello 2012! I must say that New Years has really grown on me the last..oh i don't know...4 or 5 years. It marks a time of new beginnings and a reason to get together and celebrate. I have been pretty fourtunate that the last 4 years I've actually spent New years eve with the same couple friends. We seem to almost always be in different places but it always worked out that we would spend New Years together. Sadly this year that is not the case. I was not sipping Champagne (my fav) and dancing the night away but I was with family that I never see...and among almost all 19 cousins that I apparently have here. It was fun but totally different. Part of me really missed the glitz and glamor that New Years is in the states but that doesn't take away from the reason we are here. To see and spend time with family. I will have many more glittery sequiny New Years. But lets just say I will be going big next year. But for now lets just take a trip down memory lane and look back at some previous New Years.

Happy 2008!

 Rang the New Years in with a speed walking competition :)

Silly pics to ring in 2009 with. And my two New Years Eve buddies. It was a fun 4 years :) 

Happy 2010! 

2011 New Years was spend out and about :)

With lots of fun on the Max :) except when we had to wait for it in the freezing cold forever! 

2012. With 16 of my 19 cousins.

Hope everyone is enjoying this amazing night!

Have a simply wonderful New Years! 

we made it!

after another day of flying we have finally made it to our final destination. and let me tell you it is nice to just finally be here. Our first flight yesterday left at 6am..meaning we needed to be at the airport at 4am..meaning i was up at 2am to get to the airport. it was a long hot day and i seriously hadn't had any good sleep since we left on Sunday..and it was already Thursday...umm 5 days of hardly any sleep is way to much for me..everyone knows I neeeed my sleep. Once we got here and visited with people for awhile I laid down to rest for a while and pretty much was out until...well about 12 hours later. I am feeling so much better now! This morning we went to the Pasar..basically an open market. I wanted to get some food I could eat..because the dog that was on the table wasn't going to cut it. and let me tell you this isn't your normal grocery store :)

The entrance to the market

Fresh Produce

I am super lucky because a friend we met here in Oregon lives in the town we were in before our last flight and she came with us to spend some time with us for a few days. and the best part she knows ENGLISH! i have someone to talk to :) That guy next to her is one of my moms brothers.

Chicken anyone? nothing is packaged here...they just sit on the tile tables...
you see it..you feel it..you get it..

Same with the fish...yep those are eye ball..and shrimp behind them

 

or would you rather but a live chicken?? those are also available

So that was my morning.

Just another day in the village :)

hopefully will have a post on the crazy shopping that happened in Jakarta tomorrow!

Hope you have a simply wonderful friday? saturday? whatever day it is where ever you are

Wedding Wednesday: more video fun

I almost feel like i should start calling this Wedding Video Wednesday. Because thats all I seem to be posting lately. But i just LOVE wedding cinema. And today's video is no exception. This a great example of how a couple personalized every aspect of their wedding to be nothing but "them". And it turned out great. This is one amazing western, cowboy, cowgirl wedding. Moetic Films did a great job with this one! 

Kim + Matt // Wedding Film | St. Paul, Oregon from Moetic Films on Vimeo.

Hope you have a simply wonderful Wednesday! 

3 days later..

well it's official! we have touched down in Jakarta Indonesia this afternoon. After three long flights we are finally here! a few bumps along the way but nothing we couldn't handle/ are still handling. Lets start at the beginning..

December 25th. Not going to lie this Christmas definitely didn't seem like our typical Christmas. Christmas wasn't packed of Christmas trees and relaxing family time. Instead it was a rush to the finish line, or in our case the airport. We still were trying to jam everything into our 3 huge pieces of luggage that morning and hoping we wouldn't be charged to horrendous of an amount for the extra weight of our bags. Because of an anxious mother we were waaayyyy ahead of schedule and ended up being able to stop in Portland for a little pre-flight dinner and cocktail. Once at the airport we had our first little hiccup with our luggage. We had to much weight in each bag...no surprise to us however it was a surprise for them inform us that for even 2 pounds over the 50 pounds it would be an extra 100 bucks...meaning an extra 300 because all of ours were over weight. However, there was a solution. We each were apparently allowed not just one 50 pound bag but two because of the international flight. So the solution was to buy an extra piece of luggage and check another bag...and let me tell you it was way cheaper to buy another piece of luggage then pay $300 in extra charges. 

a little pre-flight glass of wine :) 

From there it was a flight from PDX to Vancouver for a few hour lay over then a horrible, annoying, 14 hour flight to Hong Kong on the worlds most uncomfortable plane. Now, I have taken these long flights before but I seriously have never been so uncomfortable in my life. I never could sleep for more then an hour and considering our flight didn't even leave until 2am..it pretty much meant i was exhausted. so 4 movies later and endless shifting and attempting to be comfortable we finally landed. Then it was just a short layover until we finally took off for Jakarta. Thankfully it wasn't a packed flight and I actually got a good couple hours of sleep.

Here we are taking off from Portland! 

Once off the plane it was immediately a hit of humidity and heat...we definitely were not in Oregon anymore. We had the star treatment going through customs..thanks to a little connection with some people who work at the airport but sadly our luck ended when we only had 3 out of the 4 pieces of luggage arrive. Sigh...always something right? We are still trying to figure out where it got lost but they have assured us we should have it back tomorrow. Lets hope we do. There are some important things in that suitcase. Other then that the travel wasn't to horrible...we have one more full day here in Jakarta then its off to our final destination. 

Here is a shot as we were coming into Hong Kong. Beautiful sun rise 

Anyways we had a nice afternoon in Jakarta. We stopped at one of the 80 malls this place has and had a late lunch and walked around. More details on that coming tomorrow. But for now I am actually going to get to lay flat for the first time in forever and get some sleep.

Have a simply wonderful day everyone! 

Fill in the Blank Friday

It sadly has been awhile since i've done some blanks. So today we will blank! Make sure you link up over at The Litte Things We Do. I love Lauren's blog! Literally the first blog I read everyday. :) 

1.   The best way to spread Christmas cheer is     elf said it the best "singing loud for all to hear" :)   .

2.   The thing I love most about Christmas is   time with family, and time to relax and cuddle up next to the fire     .

3.  The holiday season is a time for   to realize just how much you are blessed. Life may throw you some major curve balls but with faith you will always get through it. Things could be so much worse, its a time to be thankful   .

4. My favorite thing to eat at the holidays is    umm everything? ..haha..our office has been full of treats since thanksgiving..im ready to not eat for awhile! but I love my grandmas recipe for thumbprints with jelly. soooo good    .

5.  I will be spending Christmas    on a plane. I can't believe we leave in 2 days! We had a mini Christmas last sunday and will be going to Christmas eve service tomorrow night and having dinner  .

6.  Tis better to (give or receive?)   hands down give. If i could i would give random presents year round...and sometimes i do when i see something that I just can't resist. But i mean it is always fun to receive to :)   .

7.  I'm dreaming of a    stress free/ travel drama free     Christmas. ;) 

I hope everyone has a simply wonderful Christmas Holiday! 

Bali

Although this trip is most definitely about visiting family and seeing friends we haven't seen in 7 years I would love to make a minor pit stop on our way back. I would love just two nights in heavenly Bali. We have been there before. Our last trip to Indonesia we spent a good 4 or 5 days there and celebrated my 16th birthday on the beaches of bali. Not a bad sweet 16th birthday if you ask me. However, time is limited this trip. We will only be there for 3 weeks instead of the usual 4 we normally take. I know that seems like a lot of time. But it does take us 6 flights to get us to our final destination. Meaning a lot of time is spent merely traveling. But I do think we may be able to have one of our returning flights go through Bali...sigh....i hope we can make it happen. Its absolutely stunning. And i would love just 2 days of complete relaxation and bliss before returning. Okay..let me just show you the beauty of this place...

beautiful rice fields 

perfect beaches 

 gorgeous resorts.. we actually stayed here last time we went..perfection

great villas 

stunning temples 

hotel rooms that open up to a pool...sigh...

Well now that i've convinced myself for the 100th time that this needs to happen...I do hope we can actually make it happen. Wish us luck that things fall into place when we get there and book our returning flights! For now I will just be dreaming of this paradise.

Have a simply dreamy Thursday! 

Wedding Wednesday: Destination Weddings

Destination Weddings are something that I have never personally been a huge fan of. Don't get me wrong..if money was not an issue at all it would probably be a consideration. I do love that you get to go away to a far away land, or tropical paradise and say those I do's. However, destination weddings are usually small intimate affairs. You have your closest friends and family attend. But sometimes not everyone you would want to attend can. Unless you are coughing up all of the travel money for people. Which lets face it...we aren't all Oprah...we can't fly everyone to Australia just because. And although destination weddings probably won't be an option for me there are some absolutely stunning  weddings. I mean who wouldn't want t get married in a castle in europe or the white beaches the bahamas? 

Destination weddings come with some AMAZING venues...who wouldn't want to tie the knot on the beautiful French Country Side??

Inside of an amazing french country side church?

It is almost to good to be true

Or a tropical paradise. With custom cocktails

Would be super fun to put together favor bags like these. Sun glasses, sunscreen etc.

Another bonus of a destination wedding. Stunning shots.

And stunning videos like this one from my go to wedding cinematographers Joe Simon Films.

April + Adam's Xcaret Wedding Highlights Film from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

Hope everyone has a simply wonderful Wedding Wednesday! 

what a weekend

this weekend was full of attempts to be productive...and for the most part I was...i obviously wish i could have gotten about 20 hundred other things done but all well. The countdown for Indo is on and with less then a week to go my butt better get into gear with packing and the MASS amounts of laundry i need to do. sigh...i know it will all get done but sometimes i really wish i didn't have to work this week so i could take my time and not rush... Anyways here is what I was up to this weekend

Did some major cleaning and redecorated my piano..i kind of see my piano as all of you with a fire place mantel to decorate..haha 

very simple and natural

got a head start on my table decor for family Christmas that i hosted at my house 

Did some essential shopping form the trip. Got this fun navy bag at good old Target. It will be perfect! Nice and roomy, it zips, and will withstand a hard 3 weeks of traveling. 

Also picked up some books for all 6 of my flights. (thats just to get to our final destination)

One Day by David Nicholls 

And the Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben. 

Finished up a couple DIY projects. My fun hand scrub and made some delicious homemade mini pumpkin breads that I packaged in of course a mason jar :) The recipe is over on Restored Style...an AMAZING blog so you should all check it out! :) 

And finally sat down to Christmas Dinner on Sunday night.. I made my holiday go to meal this year. Prosciutto and Fontina Cheese stuffed pork chops, caramelized butternut squash, and roasted brocolini  with parmesan . Talk about yummy! And we ended with a chocolate peppermint lava cake..totally forgot to snap a picture...but it was so good! 

A busy weekend. And now back to monday. Everyone else have a good weekend?

Hope you have a simply wonderful Monday.  

10 days and counting..

apparently in 10 days we fly out for indonesia. and am i prepared? have I started packing or prepping for 3 weeks out of the country? answer: no. i have been thinking about the fact that i leave in less then two weeks but havent actually done anything about it. its hard to think about packing shorts are tanks when im freezing in my layers, scarves, and northface right now. i wish all my bags would pack and organize themselves. I wish my ipod would be updated with new music and new movies and that some great books and magazines would just appear in my carry on. Sigh...it was a really nice thought for a moment. And instead of being in reality today ill just continue my dreams into my dream travel accessories. I do love to dream. While browsing the online world earlier this week i stumbled across some to good to be true, overly priced amazing travel accessories. Someday right? actually i really don't think I can ever justify spending $1600 on a piece of carryon luggage. But hey i can at least look at it and admire right?

I'll start with something that won't totally break the bank. I am on the search for a great cross body bag that has a ZIPPER...key when traveling to the village... I LOVE this simple leather Coach bag. And it doesn't cost anything to outrage-ish.. $158.00. Obviously a little to pricy for me this month but I would love to own this.

Never really seen a point to having a passport cover..im okay with the nice navy blue passport but i do love these metallic covers. They are a little pricy at $56 bucks but you definitely would be traveling in style! These can be found over on See Jane Work. An amazing place to find the most stylish office supplies! 

Now for the fancy shmansy stuff...one word: Burberry. Sigh..I mean don't get me wrong...spending $1,600 for simple a small carry on piece of luggage is out of the question and almost wrong but look at how pretty it is! 

I am also obsessed with this $250 makeup case. HOW CUTE IS IT!!? And my travel wouldn't be complete without this $50 luggage tag....

 Pretty sure my travel would be just a little bit more enjoyable with such fine travel accessories. But back to reality. Not going to happen. It was nice to dream though. 

Hope everyone has a simply dreamy thursday. 

Wedding Wednesday

Today I have once again another AMAZING wedding video from my favorite cinematographers at Jo Simon Films. They shot a beautiful wedding at Hearst Castle in California. And this wedding is truly perfection. A perfect day in a perfect location. Take a look for yourself!! 

Linda + Vu's Wedding Highlights from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

After watching this and falling in love with Hearst Castle I decided to look into how much it would cost to rent this beautiful venue. My initial guest was at least 10 thousand if not more. And let me tell you it was more...way more! like 10 thousand more. Thanks right...20 Thousand Dollars to rent this castle. And that doesn't come with anything. That is strictly just the location. Sigh...Thats more then some peoples wedding budgets. But goodness...if you had the money..who wouldn't want to get married here!?

Hope everyone has a simple wonderful Wedding Wednesday! 

parties and more parties

The last couple weeks have been full of parties and more parties. And you know I LOVE a good party. However, this last week was filled with more of the decor aspects of the parties, rather then hosting, or running the whole party. I have a few work things going on this week as well as a gender reveal party. It was a busy and fun week. And sadly my mind was not in the taking great pictures mode...but more along the lines of like...lets just get this done mode. So here are some of my not so amazing pictures iPhone pictures...but you will get the idea..

Last week at work I decorated 20 some tables for Winterfest. I work for a university so no actual "Christmas" parties. However, we do celebrate winter.... :) 

I kept things pretty simple.. used my mass collection of vases, pinecones, cinnamon sticks and other greenery. Kept things pretty natural looking. It was simple and turend out pretty well. 

 I also had a couple baby related things going on last week. Did some decor for an office baby shower...and of course never got pictures of it. But I did manage to take a couple pictures from a gender reveal party I made cupcakes for and also a couple other little decor pieces i did. 

Do we love the mason jars?

I also took one of my old frames that i had laying around that was painted black and glued some pink and blue ribbon to it and put this massive question mark on it.. The coloring didn't exactly turn out in this picture but you get the idea. 

I didn't actually set up for this event. My bestie came and picked up the goodies and did a great job of doing the whole set up. It turned out great! and i am happy to announce that her lovely sister and hubby are expecting a little boy. love it! 

Has anyone else's december been full of holiday parties?

Hope you have a simply wonderful Tuesday.